


of appearances, manufactured and maintained.

by onlyeli



Category: Hiveswap
Genre: Alternia, Alternian Revolution, Character Study, Hiveswap: Friendsim, Morning Routines, Other, also im not saying that he and tyz are moirails but im also not not saying that. anyways, man idk its just me loving tagora, mspareader: is broke, nice, tagora through gritted teeth: well. ugh, tagora: if youre broke get culled, the weasel boy tricked me into caring abt him!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 19:00:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21325066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyeli/pseuds/onlyeli
Summary: You helped a tealblood do his makeup.Or: A teal is a teal is a teal.
Relationships: Tagora Gorjek & MSPA Reader, Tyzias Entykk & Tagora Gorjek
Comments: 8
Kudos: 68





	of appearances, manufactured and maintained.

You're watching Tagora get ready, perched on the lip of his bathtub. Or, rather, you're watching him swipe on countless little cosmetics from funky bottles without really understanding what any of them are for, but he talks to you while he does it and that's really the main draw here anyway. You really feel like you're getting closer to Tagora, lately! Yes, he still charges you extortionate amounts of money if you ask a question he doesn't like, but even so!

He's dabbing a thick cream under his eyes right now, taking practised care to keep his claws away from his face. It's kind of funny to imagine him, younger and less experienced, messing up his application because he wasn't paying attention. What's this one even for?

Tagora glances at you via his reflection, looking for all the world as though he'd forgotten you were there. You know this look well - he'd been waiting for you to ask. 

"Rejuvenation, obviously. Without this I'd be looking as tired as Tyzias."

Tyzias sure does look tired. You swing your legs absently and wonder if they've known each other long. 

He leans towards the mirror, examining some perceived flaw on his greyish skin. "She, Tegiri and I hatched in the same perigree. Of course, we didn't really get to talking until schoolfeed."

Wow, they were all born super close together, time-wise? Who's older?

(+$10 Prying penalty)  
"That doesn't matter."

Ah. 

"Will you hand me that basket, there?  
* ________________"

Tagora gestures to the shelf on which the rainbowdrinker serum lives. You'd explained to him that you'd be more than happy to buy him a new one and he'd taken your signature, promising to collect once he was out of his current supply. Lucky for you and your significant lack of funds, he seems to have plenty left. There's a small lull in your usual blind compliance as you eye his outstretched hand. 

You've learned quite a bit about Tagora since becoming friends with him. He talks himself through phone conversations before they happen. He's unfairly good at card games. Sometimes, he breaks out a long string with a plush bug on the end and drags it over the floor for his lusus. One of the most obvious things, however, is his love of routine. Familiarity. Order. You'd seen it on your first visit to his hive, how everything had its place and stayed there, and you see it again every time he invites you to (lets you, as he says) watch him prepare for his day. You've never seen him use the contents of this basket before. 

You look towards the mirror. He's staring rather intently, but not at you. At himself. He isn't smiling either of his smiles. 

You obediently hop up and patter over to grab the little grey basket tucked neatly against the edge of the shelf. It takes you a bit of looking, in fact. Everything else in Tagora's hive (everything else about Tagora, really) is just so in-your-face that you hadn't expected it to be squirrelled away like that. You try not to look curious or elated as you hand it over. 

He takes it from you without a thanks and sets it down on the small glass shelf just underneath his mirror, next to the cream. You curse yourself for not taking a peek inside. How could you! An opportunity to bond and quite possibly lie through the gaps in your teeth!

Tagora doesn't seem to notice your agony. "Of course, it isn't all that rare for wrigglers to hatch together in that fashion. Goldbloods usually come in pairs, and the lower castes often seem to stick together. Strength in numbers, as they say."

You want to say that you've seen the mothergrub and an absolute shitton of baby trolls - uh, wrigglers - but you're distracted as he sorts through the basket deftly and plucks out what appears to be a thin pencil with a teal cap. He pulls the cap off and stands it up on the shelf, next to the basket. 

Yep, that's a pencil. It's not all that sharp, but it's well-looked after and, judging by the size of it, well-used. Oh. 

Wait a fucking second. 

Is Tagora about to let you in on something very personal? Is he about to do something raw and meaningful and affirming? Oh you are so fucking ready for the shot of friendship that is about to be injected straight into your bloodstream. No need to anaesthetise, you want to be wide awake for this one. 

"That's most likely why we stick together, after all. Surely you've heard one or more of us say it by now."

Oh, he isn't done talking. Fantastic. You fix your expression in what you hope is an encouraging little pinch and nod wisely. Teals talk. 

That seems to please him. He hums, leans closer still to the mirror and poises his hand by his mouth. He's a leftie. 

"Yes, we do."

You watch as he outlines his bottom lip with a precise curve. There's none of that sketching shit that you do when you're trying to gussy yourself up; no siree, he just goes right for it. There isn't a smudge to be seen, but the look he gives is judgemental and critical all the same. 

"Some of us more than others, obviously."

He and Tyzias did seem to have history. You think back to the hand gesture they made, how they spoke in unison. There's some kind of camaraderie, there. Man, that thought gives you the warm'n'fuzzies. She'd said that she couldn't stand the guy, sure, but when have you ever understood interpersonal relationships on this planet? Kuprum and Folkyl had been super mean to each other and yet they were moirails. Maybe a hint of animosity is necessary in all troll bonds. 

While you were monologuing to yourself, Tagora has started to draw over the curve of his top lip. You're usually distracted by his small and sharp teeth, but you seem to recall that his lips pull back when he smiles. He's good at this, though. 

He acknowledges you with his eyes again, which is fair, because he's kind of busy. He looks... Well, unsure. You smile encouragingly. 

"Teals are all about balance," he tells you, capping the pencil with a controlled click and putting it back into the basket. He takes out a black tube next, and the stub of teal lipstick he rolls up looks expensive and silky. 

"Some trolls assume that means equality, and, well, we know how I feel about assumptions. Sometimes balance is simply about keeping oneself afloat. Justice doesn't always have to mean doing what's right for the masses, but it can. Working to better oneself only really works when one acts alone."

You get the feeling he's trying to tell you something here, as he paints his lips slowly, precisely. You wonder how many times he's done this, by himself in his bathroom. His skill suggests many. It feels like something you shouldn't be watching. Like, sure, you love yourself some friendship, some good old fashioned intimacy, but this is very personal, and it's Tagora, and he's looking at you through the mirror. 

You can't deny that you panic just a little. Does he want you to say something? He's finished with his makeup a little too soon. You know that the usual next step consists of him highlighting his cheekblades, so you make a move to grab the bottle for him. 

"Wait!  
* _________________"

Your hand freezes, inches away from the expensive lotion. Tagora is pulling a makeup wipe from a packet inside the basket, wrapping it around a talon to clean the makeup away from his mouth without smearing it all over his skin. You suddenly feel worse than before: he's been breaking his routine for you this entire time, and you haven't even said anything! 

"Well, I'll be compensated for your ignorance. That's no trouble."

This is a little weird. Not as weird as a lot of the other stuff you've had to deal with, but weird all the same. He'd looked really nice, and he already wears makeup, so what's the trouble with lipstick?

"A little too much for my tastes, remember?  
* ________________  
A consistent image is the only one worth having. Besides, I look just as good without it," he says, coy. He balls up the tissue in his fist and discards it neatly, placing his memorabilia into the basket and slipping past you to set it down in its exact place. 

You stare at the spot he vacated, feeling confused and a little put out. How come all these trolls always have the upper hand in the understanding department? You would love to comprehend something absolutely, beginning to end. 

He laughs, and the sound is like dry hay shifting in a pile. That is to say, it sounds like there's something incredibly well hidden inside it. He pats the opal shine of the rainbowdrinker serum across his face, tilting his jaw to watch it catch the light. "Tyzias is good at what she does. We work together often. I'm inclined to keep it that way come her future endeavours.”

Oh. 

"Now, come. You've wasted enough time as it is. Moonlight is burning."

That seems unfair, considering that he's the one that has hair here (and boy does he style it), but you digress. There are deals to be made, laws to learn, and, just maybe, a revolution to plan.

**Author's Note:**

> i LOOOOOVE our man gorgor and i love tyzias just as much. this might be a little self indulgent but like... dw he's still awful and charges mspareader like 2000 bucks for eyeing up the merchandise (him)  
feedback is appreciated! ty for reading! check out my other hs fics! etc etc <3


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